Derby County are looking to trim the fat from their squad with the likes of Jacob Butterfield and Nick Blackman expected to leave the Championship outfit.
A number of players are facing an uncertain future at Derby County, according to Derbyshire Live.
The Rams have been attempting to get rid of some of their fringe players in order to cut costs and it is understood that Jacob Butterfield, Nick Blackman and Alex Pearce are unlikely to ever play for Derby again.
The trio are all out on loan at Bradford City, Sporting Gijon and Reading respectively, and will become free agents when their contracts expire at the end of the season.
And it seems that Blackman, Pearce and Butterfield, who cost £5 million when he arrived in 2015 (BBC), are unlikely to be offered fresh terms after falling out of favour under Frank Lampard.
The report adds that Timi Elsnick could also leave in the summer.
The 20-year-old midfielder has been in the East Midlands since 2015 and big things were expected of him when he was named the club’s Scholar of the Year after his first season with the club’s academy.
But Elsnick, who has represented Slovenia at U19 level, has struggled to kick on since and establish himself in the first-team. He moved on loan to Northampton Town in January having scored three times in 19 League Two games during the first half of the campaign at Mansfield.
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